Saturday, March 17, 2007

Doi Suthep, Bhuping Place, Hmong village

The next day, woke up hungry, rode the @ (africa twin, XRV 750) out looking for food. I noticed the huge number of caucasians in Thai. Anyway the number of farang-ised establishments was ridiculous, so I'd decided to go look for a place where the locals surely outnumbered farangs...Then I found it; The market. Ate d.w.t.f.(dunnoWhatTheFrick) at this stall. The aunty saw me walking around blur, so she called me to sit & eat. She served me a plate of dwtf that was swimming in chillly (chilli padi some more, they eat them like rice) she also gave me a glass of iced water. ? Every where i went they served breakfast with cold water. Anyway w.i.r. (when in rome...)

After having something in my stomach then only could my brain function. Then only did I notice the old city. First went to Doi Suthep.

Doi Suthep

The white elephant stands guard over a holy relic.

They were filming a local serial.

View of Chiang Mai from Doi Suthep.

Visited Bhuping Palace, His Majesty's summer home.

Flowers galore.

Didnt know they had a dress code. I wore shorts. So had to rent 10B pants. Made me look funny. And no, wearing the coronation shirt didnt help me get in cheaper. The dumb stare I gave when they spoke Thai gave me away.

Went along to the Hmong village. Also on the same route as the places above. They live in idyllic surroundings.

Just before reaching the Hmong village, bumped into these 3 monks taking a breather. First of many encounters with monks on the road. They just look magnificent. Quiet, serene...and dare I say it..almost menacing. Dont know why, but some of them give me the impression of an amalgamation of Darth Maul, Mahatma Gandhi, Samuel L Jackson & Santa Claus. Figure that one out.